


The Early Life of Taylor Christensen

by filmFreak1



Series: The Christenfield Saga [4]
Category: Life Is Strange (Video Game)
Genre: Catholic Guilt, Mental Health Issues, Prequel, Religion
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-09
Updated: 2020-11-09
Packaged: 2021-03-09 02:28:58
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,403
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27477313
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/filmFreak1/pseuds/filmFreak1
Summary: Scenes from Taylor's life before Blackwell, starting when she was seven, and focusing on her troubled relationship with her mother and her grandfather.  A prequel to the other fics in The Christenfield Saga.
Series: The Christenfield Saga [4]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1487858
Kudos: 3





	The Early Life of Taylor Christensen

**Author's Note:**

> Please note that this takes place in the same universe as my other fics from The Christenfield Saga (An Unexpected Acquaintance, Heading North, and The Woman Next Door), but it takes place prior to all of them. It should not be necessary to read them to understand this story (though it doesn't hurt), nor is it necessary to read this one to understand them. As of the posting of the first chapter of this fic, I am still writing chapters for The Woman Next Door as well.

The confessional door opens, and the strawberry blonde girl who had been in front of Taylor in line steps out with a relieved expression on her face. Taylor recognizes her from her weekly religious education class, the one she and most of the children here today been taking since last year, but she has never spoken to her, nor does she recall her name. She wonders if—

The boy behind her in line interrupts her thoughts. "Hurry up! Are you going or not?!" Taylor looks behind her and makes a face at him. Then she turns and walks into the booth.

The door closes behind her, and she takes her place on the wooden seat. She glances up at the screen, where she can see the silhouette of Father Nicholas's bald head.

He begins. "In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen."

Taylor is nervous. Five seconds pass, ten, twenty.

"Go ahead," he prompts.

She suddenly remembers the words she was supposed to say, the ones she's been practicing. "Bless me, Father, for I have sinned," she says hastily. "This is my first confession. I have four sins to confess. Or five, I guess, 'cause I did one of them two times." She thinks for a moment. "Um, I guess it's six now." She notices that her voice is starting to sound shaky.

"I'm listening."

"I watched TV instead of doing my homework—that's the one I did two times. I called another girl at school a bad name when she took my pencil and wouldn't give it back. I yelled at my mommy."

"Why did you yell at your mother?" he asks.

"Um, I wanted to go to Mrs. Perez's house—she's the next door neighbor, and she's really nice—but Mommy told me I had to clean my room first. So I yelled at her. She hit me and then made me clean my room. It didn't take that long. I told her later I was sorry."

"She...hit you?"

"Yeah. She swatted me on the butt a couple times. It hurt. Wait, is it a sin to say 'butt' in here?"

"...What are other two?"

"Huh?"

"The other two sins. I believe you said there were six?"

"Oh yeah...I kicked a cat, and I also stuck my tongue out at a boy who was rude to me before I came in here."

"You kicked a cat? Why?"

"I went into a room at Mrs. Perez's house and didn't turn the light on, and Midnight's a black cat, so I didn't see her."

"What happened after that?"

"Mrs. Perez said lunch was ready, so I went back to the dining room."

"I meant, what happened with the cat?"

"Oh. Midnight came up to me later and let me pet her. She was okay."

"...So...you didn't mean to kick her?"

"Um, no. I guess not."

The priest sighs. "I appreciate your thoroughness, but for future reference, when something happens by accident and not through any intent or willful neglect on your part...you don't need to confess it. But maybe try to be more careful when you're at that woman's house."

"Okay, Father."

"Anything else?"

"Um..." She tries to remember what she had practiced. "Oh, right: I'm sorry for these sins and all the sins I've ever committed, and I ask for forgiveness."

He clears his throat. "Okay. I'm going to start by giving you some advice: Try not to let your anger get the better of you even when others are mean to you, like that girl from school, or the boy standing behind you, or else the anger will poison your soul. Obey your parents when they tell you to do something that they are within their rights to tell you. And finally, try to do your homework from now on; it's how you gain new knowledge, and also how you show respect both for your parents and for the teachers who are teaching you and helping mold you into the person you'll eventually become."

"Okay, Father."

"Good. Now for your penance. Hmm...let's go with three Our Fathers, one Hail Mary...and do something nice for your mother. Something more than what you would usually do."

"What if I do all my chores without her asking?" she asks. "Would that work?"

"That sounds like a great idea, actually." A brief pause. "And give Midnight a few extra pets the next time you see her, okay?"

"Okay, Father."

"I'll hear your Act of Contrition now."

She recites it quickly; it's the version she was taught in her religious instruction classes, one that's often used by American Catholics. She has spent hours memorizing it. She finishes, and afterward, he pronounces absolution.

"Is that it?" she asks when he's done. "Is it over?"

"I wouldn't say that it's ever 'over'; being a part of Christ's church is a lifelong process. But yes, you're finished for now. God has forgiven you."

The girl exhales. "Thank you, Father," she whispers.

* * *

She stands in a procession down the center aisle composed entirely of children around her age. The boys' fashion consists mostly of dark-colored dress pants, jackets, and shoes, as well as white shirts and various colors of ties, while the girls all wear white dresses. Taylor's dress is brand new; it comes down to a few inches above her ankles, revealing matching white shoes and socks. Mommy bought the dress and shoes special for this occasion, along with the veil that rests on Taylor's blond head. Besides Mommy, the only other family here is Papa Chuck. He looks different today—instead of his usual plaid shirts and blue jeans, he is wearing a suit today and has combed his thick white hair back. He still wore his usual work boots instead of dress shoes, though—Taylor suppresses a giggle as she thinks of this. She guesses that he doesn't have any other shoes.

Papa Chuck does not go to church. Taylor asked him him once before why, and he told her that he considers the woods around his house to be his church. Taylor doesn't understand this, but she's glad to see her grandfather here today anyway. Nobody from Mommy's side of the family is attending; Taylor remembers Mommy once mentioning her parents and brothers and sisters, but Taylor has never met any of them. Maybe they live too far away?

The only other person Taylor knows who is attending today for her is her and Mommy's neighbor Mrs. Perez; glancing back, Taylor makes eye contact, and the middle-aged woman smiles warmly. Taylor smiles back, then back toward the front. When Mommy is out working, she often has Taylor stay at Mrs. Perez's. The blond girl doesn't mind; she loves Mrs. Perez's cooking, especially her chicken quesadillas and her key lime pie. Taylor hopes she can go over this afternoon; maybe Mrs. Perez will starting reading the next Narnia book to her, though she's not sure which one that is—for some reason, Mrs. Perez has been reading the books in a different order than how they're numbered in the set; for example, she insists that the Magician's Nephew is actually the the sixth book and not the first. If Mrs. Perez isn't up for reading to her today, maybe Taylor can look through her collection of Calvin and Hobbes books (she loves the Spaceman Spiff strips, or any story involving the title characters and a cardboard box). Or maybe she'll read Archie comics instead—she especially enjoys the ones focusing on Betty and Veronica.

The line moves forward, and then it's finally Taylor's turn. She steps in front of Father Nicholas. Today, the bald, skinny priest wears a chasuble of white and light gold over his white alb. He holds up the host (it's not bread anymore, she reminds herself) and says, "The body of Christ." She replies with "Amen," and he places the host in her outstretched hands.

While chewing the host (it tastes flavorless, but then one isn't supposed to take communion for the taste), she moves on to the chalice bearer, who carefully tilts the cup toward her as he recites his words. She takes one tiny sip as she was told to do both in her religious instruction and by her mother. Her eyes widen, and she barely restrains herself from spitting it back out. She has been told before that communion wine is made from grapes, but this does not taste like the stuff that Mommy occasionally grabs from the juice section at the supermarket. She feels herself flush with embarrassment, but thankfully, neither Father Nicholas nor the chalice bearer seem to have noticed her reaction.

Then she is done. Heading to the right, she makes her way back to the row where Mommy, Papa Chuck, and Mrs. Perez all sit.

"You did great up there, sweetie," says Mommy, kissing the top of Taylor's head. The rest of the children finish their First Communion, and soon the service is over. A reception is held immediately afterward in the parish hall where refreshments are served. Taylor hugs Mommy and Mrs. Perez. Just a handshake for Papa Chuck though; Mommy has told her before that he doesn't like to be hugged. Father Nicholas comes by briefly; he has taken off his vestments and is now only in his black outfit, white collar visible at the front. He shakes the three grownups' hands (raising an amused eyebrow ever so slightly when he glances down at Papa Chuck's work boots). Then he finally gets to Taylor and bends down to shake her hand (Taylor notes how his hand dwarfs hers).

"Congratulations, Taylor."

"Thank you, Father."

He smiles, then gets up and moves on to the next family.

Papa Chuck now kneels in front of her. She nearly recoils at his breath; it reminds her of how Daddy's breath used to smell. She wonders if it has to do with the shiny bottle she saw Papa Chuck sneak out of the inside of his jacket earlier that morning; when she asked about it, he said it was a special medicine he had to take to be able to sit through church services.

Her grandfather hands her a small, white gift bag. "Don't know if this is the best time for this or not, but I got you a little something." He speaks with the faint, funny accent. She asked him once about that, too; he said he was from a faraway land called Alabama.

She looks up at Mommy. "Can I open it now?"

Mommy's face is one of confusion; the gift is a surprise to her too. Nevertheless, she nods. "Sure, sweetie."

"I remembered how much you enjoyed looking at my books of photography," Papa Chuck remarks as Taylor sets the gift bag on the floor and removes the tissue paper from the top. "So I figured this would be a chance for you to explore it a little on your own."

She reaches in and pulls out the gift. It's a brand new camera, and not one of those cheap disposable cameras, either. She turns it around in her hands, speechless.

"That's...really generous of you, Chuck," Mommy remarks, clearly surprised.

Papa Chuck winks at Mommy. "Think of it as a down payment on her inheritance."

The blond is speechless. Spotting something else in the gift bag, she carefully holds the camera in one hand and looks inside for a better look.

"I included several rolls of film," Papa Chuck explains. "I know digital cameras are getting better, but they're still not as good as film. Not yet, at least. If you're interested, I'll show you how to operate it, and I'll pay to have those rolls developed, too."

Any further words he has to say are cut off when Taylor, against her better judgment, lunges forward and wraps her free arm around his neck in a hug. He freezes.

"Taylor!" Mommy admonishes. "You know Grandpa doesn't like that."

Taylor lets go and steps back, blushing. "Sorry, Papa Chuck."

He smiles, stands, pats her gently on the shoulder. "It's okay."

Mommy gestures toward the camera and the gift bag. "Don't you have something to say, Taylor?"

"I think her gratitude has already been strongly implied," says Papa Chuck. "Hey, you know what? I've already loaded a roll into the camera. How about we commemorate this occasion by taking the first photo on it." He looks around. "Excuse me? Sir?"

A nearby man in a suit turns around. "Yes?" He is a young man with short, strawberry blond hair. Next to him are two girls around Taylor's age. One also has strawberry blond hair and, like Taylor, is wearing a nice white dress for her First Communion. For some reason, she doesn't look right in it, and Taylor thinks she would look better in a white pantsuit instead (she's not sure if the rules allow for that or not). Taylor recognizes her as the girl who was standing in line in front of her at their first confession months back, but she still doesn't remember her name. The girl next to her has dark brown hair, and is wearing a simple, dark green dress. A younger sister, maybe?

"Could you take a picture of all of us?" asks Papa Chuck, holding out the camera to him.

The young man smiles. "Sure, it'd be my pleasure." He has a very friendly demeanor. He turns to the two girls with him, who have started walking away. "Hey, girls, stay where I can see you, okay?"

"Sure thing, dad!" replies the strawberry blond girl.

"Okay, Mr. Price," replies the brown-haired girl. A friend, Taylor realizes. Not a sister.

The man reaches out and takes the camera from Papa Chuck, then winds it.

"Ooh, hang on a minute!" says Mommy. "Hey, Father Nicholas?"

The priest, who was about to move on to yet the next family, turns around.

"Can you come take a picture with us?" asks Mommy.

"Okay, move in close," the man—Mr. Price—says a minute later. "Those of you in front will need to get down—except for the girl." Mommy kneels to Taylor's right, Papa Chuck to her left, with Father Nicholas and Mrs. Perez standing behind them.

"Alright, on three, ready? One...two...three!"

A flash, the sound of a shutter opening and closing, and the moment is forever captured.

**Author's Note:**

> I was originally going to incorporate these scenes as flashbacks in The Woman Next Door, but I realized that they didn't really contribute much to the main story in there. However, I really liked what I had written so far, so I ultimately decided to separate them out into their own fic. As mentioned in the beginning notes, I am still writing more chapters of The Woman Next Door--consider this fic to be an added bonus. Thanks, and I hope you enjoy!


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